


Emmett Cullen

by VampireGuardDogs



Series: twilight headcanons - individuals [10]
Category: Twilight (Movies), Twilight Series - All Media Types, Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-24
Updated: 2019-09-12
Packaged: 2020-03-13 21:34:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18949081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VampireGuardDogs/pseuds/VampireGuardDogs
Summary: A series of headcanons about Emmett Cullen





	1. Sweet Family

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoy! Come talk to me on Tumblr under the username vampireguarddogs and to see a bunch more Twilight content, including writing I don't post here and moodboards! I also accept writing requests for your favorite ship, character, or group. I love any kind of message, long or short, about my work or anything! Have a great day. :)

Emmett’s human life was an interesting one. He was known for being a bit “wild,” spending most of his time goofing off with his friends and causing different kinds of trouble in the small down he called home. Despite this nature, he had a soft spot for his family; doing anything in his power to keep his younger sisters, brothers, and parents fed and happy. As the oldest son, he viewed it as his duty. His sweet side was most obvious when he was with his family.

He loved spending time with his younger sisters. They would ask for help with their homework or cleaning their room, or other chores they had around the house. Emmett never did too well in school, but he made sure he knew everything he needed to help them. This required often staying up long after they did to make sure he remembered the right information for their various assignments. He turned cleaning their room into a game; who could be the fastest to pick up all the toys or make their bed? It was never Emmett.

His younger brothers he had a harder time connecting with, but that didn’t stop him from trying. He didn’t want them to have to work as hard as he did, so he tried to spend time with them in other ways. They would run around the nearby park, playing catch with an old baseball or wrestling with each other. When they got older, and there was enough of them for a game, Emmett started teaching his brothers how to play baseball. Sometimes their sisters would join, teasing their brothers as they all played the game.

Emmett was closest with his youngest sister. She was about ten years younger than him, and looked up to him more than anyone in the world. He would tell her story after story of his adventures hunting or spending time with his friends, playing with the details to turn them into fairy tales for her. He would tell her the stories until she fell asleep, tucking her in and kissing her on the forehead before quietly tiptoeing out of the small room she shared with some of their other siblings.

His younger brothers loved to hear his stories too, each begging to hear their favorite ones. Emmett loved playfully sharing the details of his days, finding new ways to entertain his siblings. 

He often made or found them different toys to play with, using different things he found in the woods, or small things he could purchase from shops. They made up different games with the toys, playing together as much as they could before other responsibilities would tear him away.

His oldest brother was only a year younger than Emmett. Emmett often gave his youngest brother advice about everything, from girls to clothes to school, and anything else he needed help with. They would fight a lot, but at the end of the day they loved each other more than anything. 

Emmett loved doing things to make his mother smile. She worked hard, with such a large family to take care of and not much money or time. He would do his best to bring back as much food as he could, helping her prepare or save it for the family’s meals. He sold anything extra, using the money to help buy food he couldn’t hunt or fabric for their clothes. Some days he would try to get something just for her, whether it was a special treat from the bakery, a new piece of jewelry, or flowers he saw while he was out. She loved anything he got her; he would do anything to make her happy.

He tried to help her around the house too; helping to sort fabric or wash clothes. Living with such a large family, the work seemed to pile up and there was always something to do. If his siblings that were old enough to help out were around, he liked to entice them to help out by turning the different tasks into a game. 

Emmett learned how to hunt from his father; it was their way to bond. After Emmett learned, he often had to go out on his own as his father had other work to do, but they would still try to spend the weekends together in the woods. He loved the time with his father; using it to talk about things going on in his life or ask advice on things that were worrying him. Their hunts would turn into a contest, causing banter and playful fighting between the two.

They didn’t have much ability to spend time as a family, with so many people, it was hard to find a time when they were all together with nothing else to work on. However, they were sure to spend each night together as a family, first eating dinner together and then working together to clean up and talk afterwards. Often, they would work on different small tasks like sewing or repair work while talking. This was Emmett’s favorite part of the day; he loved hearing from each of his siblings how they spent their day, and watching his parents have the chance to relax.


	2. Sad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> tw for mental illness and depression

It wasn’t too often that Emmett got sick. Of course, like most children, it wasn’t uncommon to catch him with a sniffle or a cough. They were just things that went around, things he could easily shrug off. He didn’t have time to be sick. There was food that needed hunting, gardens that needed weeding, homework that needed completion, brothers and sisters that needed help. He mostly ignored anything sickness he felt; there simply wasn’t time for it. 

Until one day he started feeling what he couldn’t shrug off. He was constantly exhausted. Getting up took longer, until he had to drag himself out of bed, giving himself constant reminders of how much his family needed him before he could muster up the strength. It was harder to complete his chores; it took energy he didn’t have and it was hard to muster up the motivation for it. He couldn’t concentrate on his homework. He snapped at his siblings. He picked at his food. 

He spent as much time as he could on his own, away from everybody. He walked through the woods surrounding his house, walking miles a day. Sometimes he wouldn't even walk, just find a spot to sit in the woods, leaning against a tree or laying on the ground, staring without seeing all that was around him. He’d always come up with some excuse as to why he would be gone so long, but they were thin at best. 

He didn’t know what was happening to him, but he didn’t want to ask for help. He couldn’t tell anyone what was happening. He was supposed to be the strong one, the stable one. He was funny and easygoing. Those traits didn’t go with… whatever it was he was feeling. It would just have to be ignored. Surely he’d be fine going on like this. Eventually, he had to feel better if he just kept pushing himself. Right?

Wrong. His mother was worried about him. His siblings were worried about him, wondering why their big brother had suddenly stopped playing with them. Even his father, who was barely around, noticed something was wrong. 

His mother went in to talk to him first, feeling like she may have noticed some of the signs. She found him in the room he shared with two of his brothers, lying on his bed. The covers were pushed off, lying on the ground. He stared up at the ceiling without moving. She would have thought he was asleep, except his eyes were still open, staring at the ceiling.

She asked what he was doing still in bed at this hour, shrugging off his excuses at not feeling well. She had felt his forehead, and he was fine. She all but forced him to go on a walk with her, so they could be alone without risking someone coming up to them. Having a private conversation in the McCarty household was something that just couldn’t happen. There were too many children around, always wanting attention. Normally Emmett loved this and was happy to provide it, but not lately. It wasn’t like him.

The walk went on a long time without either saying much. His mother kept trying to ask questions, but would only get one-word answers. He didn’t pose any questions of his own, just letting his short answers break the silence before it settled again. She kept probing, kept asking, because she knew something was wrong that he just wouldn’t tell her. 

But a boy has to be able to talk to his mother.

He eventually broke down, telling her all that he had been feeling the past few months. 

How he couldn’t get out of bed because he was so worried about doing something wrong and hurting them. 

How he was constantly on edge, worried that something would happen to them out of his control.

How he was sure everyone was mad at him for something, something he couldn’t figure out. 

How he felt hopeless, like there was nothing he could do or say right.

How nothing felt right anymore. 

How he struggled to connect. 

How he felt like he was losing everyone close to them. 

How sometimes, he didn’t even really feel anything at all.

She listened for a long time as he spilled out everything he had kept bottled up inside the last few months. She didn’t know what to do. How had she missed he was feeling this way? How had it gotten so bad? How had her son gotten so sick?

They eventually sat in the middle of the forest, on some fallen trees that kept them off of the wet ground. They talked for most of the day, Emmett explaining how he felt and his mother listening, offering advice. They worked out ways to help him understand, to handle these feelings better. There wasn’t much else they could do; doctors were expensive. 

But he had plenty of love in his life, and they would make sure he knew it.

They walked home together, arms around each other, Emmett feeling lighter than he had in months. It wasn’t a perfect solution, and he still struggled a lot. But he had support, those who could help him when he needed it. He felt closer, was able to come back to himself. It was perfect. But it was enough.


	3. Making Magic

There weren’t many chances for magic in Emmett’s childhood. The magicians that came to the local performance center charged more for tickets that his family could afford. And the performance center wasn’t that local considering how much it would cost to get there. He knew better than to ask and instead thought of ways he could make magic for his younger siblings.

He liked to lead them on walks through the woods. They were all tired at the end of long days, so they wouldn’t go far. Instead, they would stay close to their house, exploring the trees right up to the edge of their property. Emmett would explain the magic in all the treasures they found: flowers somehow growing in the shade of trees, patterns in the moss, pretty rocks glistening in the moonlight. 

He took stories like the tooth fairy, Santa Claus, and the Easter bunny very seriously. He did all he could to keep the magic of these stories alive for his siblings.

For each one of his brothers and sisters, he made a small pouch to hold any lost teeth. He used small bits of fabric and string to weave and sew them together. They didn’t have to be big, just brightly colored. “It’s important that it doesn’t get lost under your pillow,” Emmett would explain. He didn’t have much money to give, but he’d give what he could, plus other small treasures he had or found.

Christmas was a busy time in the McCarty household. With so many mouths to feed and children to buy gifts and clothes for, his parents were working around the clock. Thus, the childcare usually fell to Emmett. Anytime they didn’t have to work became time they could use to make cards and gifts for each other and their parents. They would sing Christmas carols and share stories of past holidays while they worked, helping each other with their cards as needed.

On Christmas Eve, he pretended to go to bed with his siblings. Once they were asleep, the real fun began. He’d jump out of bed, ready to do all the things that needed doing for a magical Christmas morning. He spread some ashes and wood bits around the base of their small fireplace,almost like someone had crawled in and out of it. The cookie plate would be left with nothing but crumbs; the milk glass beside it empty. More presents would be piled under the tree, anything he had been able to make or buy without the others noticing. He would even sneak outside to leave “hoofprints” in the snow.

Easter would be much the same. His siblings would decorate egg after egg, using dyes Emmett had mixed himself. No two eggs would be the same; he ensured there were plenty of colors and other decorations to create the necessary variety. He tried to provide enough to decorate, but they were hard to come by, so they would switch to rocks, and later, paper, until all were satisfied. Everything was proudly displayed, or hidden for the hunt.

And the hunt itself? That was massive. He’d rise before the sun to start hiding eggs, beginning inside the house while everyone else slept. The older ones were in charge of keeping the younger ones inside until everything was ready, which was easier said than done.

He his eggs everywhere: behind books, in lamps, under beds, between walls and furniture, in every nook and cranny he could find. He did the same thing outside. It took them hours to find them all - even with hints. His siblings loved it, competing with each other to see who could collect the most, laughing the whole way.


End file.
